InsaneJournal

NAME: Azura Redford
NICKNAMES: None
AGE: 27
DATE OF BIRTH: September 12th

MARITAL STATUS: Taken by Dante (infernalagate)
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual

PARENTS:
Everett Redford - Father
Liza Redford - Mother
SIBLINGS: None
RELATIVES:
Katharine Redford - Grandmother

CLASSIFICATION: Shifter
ABILITIES: Can shift appearance into any living creature that she has seen before. These shifts can be compartmentalized to a certain degree, but it requires practice and can be difficult. Shifting into an animal does not automatically give her all of its natural strengths. Each form has to be practiced with in order to reach proficiency. Injuries sustained while shifted do transfer to her human form when shifted back.
POWERS BASED FROM: General shapeshifter lore

OCCUPATION: Music teacher, Freelance musician
HOMETOWN: Savannah, GA
CURRENT RESIDENCE: New Orleans, LA

A product of a father who always preached what was prim and proper and a mother from a world built upon beauty, impulse and whimsy, Azura likes to call herself an amalgamation of two worlds. While the world she grew up in had very strict rules and guidelines for a young lady, she was often drawn to the stories her mother would indulge her with of her times before Savannah and her array of talents.

She is a woman of many traits. But the one she values most is intelligence. She is very much the type to think before she acts and to think through the results that possible actions might bring about. Being reckless has not been a part of her nature since her days as a child. Well-spoken and eloquent, Azura knows well when to speak her mind. But she also knows well enough when to hold her tongue. It is something all must know, she feels. But not all do. Her knowledge extends to a fair many things, but she harbors a curiosity and hunger for learning that will likely never cease. She can often be seen with a book in her hands. And when there isn't a book, her desire to learn manifests itself in questions asked to someone who knows more.

Generally one to follow rules, she doesn't take well to chaos and disorder. If presented with it, she will try her best to get things back on the track that they're meant to be on. She will think problems through to the best ability and likes to think that she is good with solving them.

Despite her seeming rigidity (or her sense of being high strung, as some would call it), Azura is the definition of an artistic soul. While she loves the written word, music is her greatest love. She sings and plays several instruments. She finds such things to be an outlet for the things she cannot express in her words and mannerisms. Things that she finds improper or impractical to think or feel, mostly. Music is an incredibly versatile art, and it crosses over into her personality as well as into her nature as a shifter. Endless possibilities.

When one gets past her outer walls, they find the warmth hidden beneath her cool exterior. It is definitely worth the work, though not all have taken that chance. While not one to obsess over her appearance, Azura takes care that she looks well. Standing at 5 feet and ten inches, she is taller than the average woman. Her figure is not athletic, but is toned enough. Her curves are soft and more slight, as she is not overly robust. Her hair is a deep brown and is usually worn long. Her eyes are blue, playing well with other features set in a soft face with a slightly angular jawline. Her shifting capabilities allow her to change her appearance so long as the outcome is something she has seen before. She has sported blonde hair on more than one occasion, as well as red.
Her clothing are as much an expression of her personality as her mannerisms are. She prefers things that are finely tailored and tends toward more classic silhouettes with modern twists. A gentleman is to always be a gentleman. To be strong, yet kind. To find himself a suitable wife and treat her with the care that a delicate flower deserved. There were things that a gentleman was always to do, and things that he was absolutely not to do. Azura came to be due to a man's disregard of this system.

Everett Redford was an upstanding member of his community. The Redford family went very far back in the history of Savannah, and Georgia as a whole. Old money had a way of retaining its place, after all. His mother always expected that her son would marry the ideal Southern belle. After all, so many family friends had daughters and nieces that were perfectly suitable for him. The thing of it was, though...Everett adhered to the way of life that his mother had taught him while simultaneously wanting something entirely different and new.

That came in the form of Liza. She was the opposite of the woman he was supposed to marry. Still beautiful, yes, but outspoken and brash. She was well-spoken and endlessly charming. Everything about her burned bright like a candle in the midst of darkness. Though Everett hadn't wanted to admit it, he was smitten at the very first look. After meeting her in a bar one day, he continued to go back there in hopes of seeing her again. He observed her nature and her antics among others and eventually, her attentions turned to him. There was just something about her...he had to have her.

Their relationship developed out of order. At least, for what was expected of him. Conversations turned into physical intimacy before he even got the chance to ask her on a date. Still, he did try to do things the right way after that. To ask her out properly and take the time to really and truly get to know her outside of the bedroom.

Eventually (and much to Everett's mother's disapproval), the two were married. They conceived a child very shortly thereafter, bringing a beautiful daughter into the world nine months later.

Much as they tried, it was impossible to keep the newly named Grandmother Redford out of the child's upbringing. She was insistent on a variety of things, from etiquette lessons to music lessons to training in public speaking and diction.

Azura was a curious child, and that was clear from the very beginning. She took to her lessons quickly, partly for a desire to learn and partly out of fear of any repercussions and scolding from her grandmother. And while she was contented to live in the contained portrait of life presented by her grandmother, the few stories her mother had told her of all of her adventures made the young girl wonder about what else was out there in the great big world. Away from rules and expectations...where whims drove you and things were simply beauty and enjoyment.

Those desires of hers were kept to herself as she grew into a young lady. Her grandmother insisted on pushing Azura to be a debutante. Her parents only agreed after making the older woman promise that her meddling would cease after the girl's cotillion.

Learning how to walk and talk and drink tea without slurping got tiring. She wanted to explore her own interests, but didn't have nearly enough time to do so. Nor did she really have the backbone to stand up to her grandmother and demand the time.

At least, not until a short week before the debutante ball. That was when she discovered her abilities as a shifter. After a rather stressful evening of trying on her gown (it had been made from pieces from her grandmother's own debutante gown) and being told that she had to stop eating so many sweets so that it would fit properly, Azura had gone home in less than wonderful spirits. All she wanted was to get away from it all. So instead of going home, she simply ran. And ran and ran. Eventually, though, it wasn't the soles of shoes hitting the ground, but paws. The girl had turned into a Siamese cat, the spitting image of the one she'd had during her childhood.

More than enough reason for some questions upon returning home. It seemed that among all the lessons and reinforcement of manners, some very key information had been left out. Azura, like several others in her family, was a shifter.

This new knowledge changed her perspective, really. Yes, she still went through with the debutante ball. Her grandmother was pleased and all was well. But after that night, Azura started to make more of her own decisions. Not all of them were the right ones. And as she grew older, more and more of them made her grandmother blanch. But that was alright, because she was trying to find her own way in the world.

It became clear that remaining in Savannah was limiting her scope of things. She needed to find somewhere new in order to fully discover who she was. Having applied to jobs all over the South, she finally decided to move to New Orleans and accept a position as a music teacher at a small conservatory.

Nola has brought her many new experiences, but she's also learned that the great big world is a lot more mysterious than it seems.